The Waif

Publication(s)

  • First publication
    • The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January 2001
  • Wolfe collection(s)

Wolfe's comments from the Introduction to Innocents Aboard

"'The Waif' has been praised by Gordon Van Gelder. That should be enough for you."

Summary

A young man befriends a magical outsider, and learns about the power of hate in his community.

Analysis

  • Sources of quotes
  • Meanings of names
  • References to other works
  • Theories about what happens under the surface, what the narrator isn't telling us, who the narrator is and when and why s/he is telling the story, what the whole thing "means," etc.
    If there are multiple or competing theories, each one should be given a name with a three-bang (!!!) header; if the page begins to get out-of-hand from the size of these, as could happen in a few cases, they should be shuffled off to their own page(s).
  • Etc.

Unresolved Questions

  • Is Ariael motivated by the desire to get people into trouble by dealing with him? He says hatred is a luxury of the rich, like whiskey. He also says he considers himself very rich.
  • Does Bin gain the power of weather control and become like one of the Flying People?

< The Monday Man | Innocents Aboard | The Legend of Xi Cygnus >

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